If you’re not yet convinced by Google’s power, this is bound to seal the deal.

The company closed a huge amount of cash in 2017 alone through paid products and services like Google Ads, G Suite and the Google Home range.

So, the reasoning behind their huge number of yearly visitors (and gigantic market share) probably won’t come as a shock.

3. In 1999, it took Google one month to crawl and index 500 million pages. In 2012, it took less than a minute (Smart Insights)

Is there any better indication to prove Google’s pace than this SEO statistic? In 13 years, the time it takes for their software to crawl and index 500 million pages has been slashed dramatically—from an entire month to less than 60 seconds.

But what does that mean for SEO pros?

Well, you might not be waiting as long for the changes you’ve made to take effect. That’s never a bad thing—and could prove whether your strategy is working sooner, rather than later.

That’s right: According to Moz’s Google algorithm changelog, 13 changes were recorded in 2017 alone.

Furthering the point of Google’s software team always being on the ball with their search engine, it means SEO experts can follow recently-updated guidelines to increase their chances of ranking highly.

7. Improvements in content have been known to increase blog traffic by as much as 2,000% (Marketing Sherpa)

But by publishing blog content regularly, producing whitepapers, holding webinars and creating presentations, one company demonstrated that a 2,000% uplift in website traffic is a possibility.

And that’s not all.

Since more people were visiting their site through platforms influenced by their SEO-optimized content, the company’s revenue grew 40% year-on-year, and their cost per acquisition (CPA) reduced by 15%.

8. The average first-page result on Google contains 1,890 words (Backlinko)

When optimizing each individual page for SEO, remember this statistic.

Backlinko found a powerful correlation between total word count and ranking position when they analyzed over a million SERPs:

…But why does this happen?

The strongest theory is this:

Google’s main aim is to show the highest-quality, most relevant page for a user’s search query. Content over 1,500 words is much more likely to be useful than a 500-word page, hence the higher rankings.

So, when you’re crafting the content for each individual page on your website, don’t be afraid to dive into detail. Include statistics, data points and explanations to back up your points, and you’ll soon reap the rewards.

9. Companies that blog have 434% more indexed pages than those that don’t (TechClient)

Although this might sound super obvious, it’s an important one.

A higher number of indexed pages means a website has more chance of ranking in the SERPs. Why? Because if each page is targeting a small group of keywords, more pages equal more ranking opportunities.

Local SEO Stats

13. Almost a third of mobile searches are related to a location (Google)

We think of Google as the place where we can find any information we’re looking for—and a new wave of mobile searchers is using it for location-based information such as:

Facilities nearby (i.e. “ATM near me”)

A local business’s opening hours

But how can you use this SEO stat to fuel your local SEO strategy?

Here’s your answer: Focus on creating pages that are optimized for local SEO, whilst making sure they’re mobile-friendly. You don’t want to frustrate mobile viewers with a landing page that isn’t responsive.

That won’t do anyone any favors, and is likely to make ranking on page #1 an even trickier task.

14. Mobile searches for “where to buy” have grown by 85% since 2015 (Google)

Whether you’re selling garden patios or kitchen cutlery, you always want to be shown in “where to buy” searches. After all, these people searching have high commercial intent—they’re very close to pressing the purchase button and handing over their cash.

I’ve harped on about the value of Google My Business listings time and time again, and this SEO stat backs me up. It’s essential to fill in each section of your listing if you want to make the most out of it.

Think about the reasons why potential customers view a business listing. It might be to find opening times, make a phone call or browse products on their website.

So, scan through your Google My Business listing and double-check each field is properly filled out. Then, test the link to your website is working—and be in with the chance to see upwards of 25% more clicks to your site!

Mobile SEO Stats

With the number of people making the switch from traditional desktops to mobile devices to use search engines, here are the mobile SEO stats that prove it could be the latest SEO phenomenon:

I’ve already touched on the fact that Google takes the lead for mobile search engine traffic.

But I wanted to take that a step further with this statistic, which proves mobile internet usage isn’t just important for SEO—it’s taking the entire world by storm and accounting for over half of all global website traffic:

For SEOs, this proves the need for mobile SEO more than ever.

With such a dramatic shift in mobile internet habits, failing to keep up with the times could see you fall behind—and miss out on the ever-increasing number of internet users who are opting for mobile devices.

Voice Search Stats

“Should I really be focusing on voice search?” is a question on many SEO’s minds.

The answer isn’t as clear-cut as you think—but these statistics might be worth considering:

In order to make a voice search, you’ll need a device to enable you to do so. One of those devices is a smart speaker—such as the Amazon Echo, Google Home or Apple HomePod.

Granted, the 16% of Americans who own a smart speaker isn’t a ginormous chunk of potential customers, but it’s a significant chunk of the general public that could potentially use their smart speaker for voice searches.

Think about it: What could you do with a 16% increase in your website traffic?

19. Mobile voice-related searches are three times more likely to be local-based than text-related searches (Search Engine Watch)

Earlier, I talked about the surge of mobile searchers looking for local information.

Now combine that with the fact that voice-related searches are much more likely to be looking for local services, and there’s a solid reason why you should be making it easy for local voice searchers to find your business.